Verkhovna Rada adopted a message addressed to European parliaments
and governments, concerning the alarming situation in Ukraine's information
theater of operations. The reason for the Ukrainian concern (among them
eleven presidential candidates) is that this theater, which was created
thanks to Parliament's efforts, based on ten information laws, is being
ruined. Ukraine, however, is not ruled by the "supremacy of the law, but
by utter lawlessness, with the executive trying to bring the freedom of
expression to its knees," reads the document. In the words of Ivan Chyzh,
chairman of Parliament's Freedom of Expression Committee, "the opposition
and simply unaffiliated media are being literally strangled."
He also draws Europe's attention to the advantages in terms of coverage
and propaganda enjoyed by the incumbent. "This happens because of the media's
unstable economic status, their being reallocated between influential owners,
and total executive control over the press," says Mr. Chyzh.
The Ukrainian Parliament recalls in its message that unlawful acts of
the executive became known in "serious European structures," in particular
the PACE Monitoring Committee, after studying the situation in Ukraine's
media (apart from the fact that Leonid Kuchma is placed sixth on the list
of "enemies of the press" of the US Committee to Protect Journalists),
came up with highly depressing findings. Obviously, the Ukrainian delegation
to the Parliamentary Assembly will have to bring some documentary evidence
to the contrary.
On the other hand, addressing the European Union, Verkhovna Rada expects
to meet with understanding and receive tangible support in upholding the
Constitution and other laws of Ukraine in terms of freedom of speech and
the press. "We do hope that the democratic achievements of the first years
of independence will be protected from a totalitarian onslaught," stresses
the parliamentary message. In principle the very fact of concern in European
institutions means that all "internal reserves" in struggling with the
executive have been practically exhausted. The cutting off of televised
coverage from the Verkhovna Rada and presidential veto on information laws
are eloquent testimony. It is important, therefore, that the lawmakers'
intention to act as a "guarantor of the freedom of speech and democratic
progress in Ukraine" be supported by European colleagues. The more so that
there is a real danger that severing contacts with PACE (provoked by the
executive) will help the executive rid itself of Western observers during
the October elections.






